Glad Gov. Barnes is ready to lead changes in opening tax records

After promising to keep details about the handful of companies given special state tax breaks under wraps, Gov. Roy Barnes now says he's ready to bring that information out in the open.

After weeks of being blasted for shielding the identities of five companies who have been exempted from state income taxes, Barnes has suggested to his leading critic that they work together to change state law so more information can be made public.

In a letter to state Sen. Eric Johnson, R-Savannah, Barnes defended his position on this issue by saying he has been relying on Attorney General Thurbert Baker's advice that state law requires a company's tax information to be kept confidential.

''Rather than defying the attorney general, we should work to change the law and make more of the information public,'' Barnes wrote.

We're surprised by Barnes' offer to help champion this change in the law, but thrilled he's finally seen the light on this issue.

A 1998 law aimed at bringing jobs to rural areas of Georgia created the incentive program, which currently has five participating companies with another four companies having applied. According to news reports, so far the five companies have been given an estimated $98 million in tax breaks.

For any multistate employer who creates a large number of jobs in rural Georgia, the state can agree to lower the amount of a company's nationwide income that it taxes. Applicants must be approved by a panel consisting of the commissioners of Revenue, Community Affairs and Industry, Trade and Tourism, all of which are appointed by the governor.

The Attorney General's Office has advised state officials that a company's tax information is exempt from the Open Records Act. Other legal experts disagree with this opinion arguing that a company's application for state tax exemption does not constitute a tax record and therefore would not be excluded from the Open Records Act.

We believe the public has a right to know how much the state is paying to get a company to locate here, how many jobs have actually been created and what impact these payouts will have on the amount of corporate income tax the state collects. Without this information, it is impossible for Georgians to determine if the incentive program is accomplishing what it was created to do. Details about these companies are also necessary to ensure they don't have personal or financial ties to government officials.

Our confidence in Barnes' commitment to open government has been shaken by his earlier defense of what appeared to be a weak legal argument for concealing the identities of companies receiving lucrative tax exemptions. We are pleased to see him finally acknowledge the need to make this information public. We now look forward to the governor putting the full weight of his office behind changing this state law in the upcoming General Assembly session. Aggressive action on his part could do much to restore our confidence.